[Platform] Talk to People!

[John Andrews]

     |   "The name of the game is to talk to people. If you don't talk to
people,
     |   you can't get started."
     |                                         - Cesar Chavez

We've discovered a great reason to talk to people.  It involves putting a
PUBLIC POLICY QUESTION on the November ballot.  When you do this, you have a
excellent excuse to get out on the street and talk to people, to hand out
information at candidate nights,  and to write letters to the editor.  You
will make new friends and discover new allies who will work with you in the
long haul.  And the passage of the question will give you a solid basis for
talking to your state representative about their obligation to respond to
the will of the voters.

To promote the use of public policy questions, the Massachusetts
Green-Rainbow Party formed an ADVISORY BALLOT WORKING GROUP (ABWG).  The
ABWG is now working to create a menu of three or four questions from which
one can be selected to be put on the ballot in selected House or Senate
districts across Massachusetts.  The ABWG is writing "how-to" materials for
volunteers, helping finalize the wording of questions,  recruiting other
nonprofit organizations to help,  and organizing district action groups.
Among the QUESTION TOPICS that we are actively pursuing are global warming,
health care, instant runoff voting, and predatory lending.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!  We need GRP members who will join the ABWG and help
launch the efforts in the districts.  The ABWG is responsible for developing
the text for each possible question. The ABWG has been meeting via one-hour
weekly telecons, and the next telecon is scheduled for this Tuesday at 8
PM.   New members are welcome.  We also need people (and local
organizations) who will help us get a question on the ballot in their own
district. June is going to be a critical month in which we will get out on
the street and collect petition signatures in each involved district.

Our ballot questions are addressing critical issues that urgently need
action.  If you're willing to help in any way - from joining the ABWG to
collecting a dozen petition signatures in your district - then please WRITE
US as soon as possible.  Your response can make the difference in whether a
question appears on the ballot in your district.

Please let us hear from you by sending your name,  telephone number, and
email address to jandrews166 at gmail.com.

Many thanks!

- John Andrews
(for the Advisory Ballot Working Group)